Pulmonary oedema in acute glomerulonephritis.

Pulmonary oedema in association with acute glomerulonephritis is uncommon (Wood, 1956; Nelson, 1959), and the pathogenesis is as yet far from clear. De Wardener (1958) states that 80% of the cases of acute nephritis recover completely and 5% die in one or two weeks of either acute cardiac failure, acute renal failure or hypertensive encephalopathy. The remaining 15% subsequently develop chronic nephritis. Cases dying in acute cardiac failure, therefore, are rare. Whether the pulmonary oedema in these cases is due to acute cardiac failure or not will be discussed later. This paper gives an account of three children who suddenly developed the clinical features of acute pulmonary oedema. A discussion of the pathogenesis with special reference to renal diseases is given.